TO go to Old Trafford 11 versus 11 is tough enough. 10 versus 11 would take a miracle to emerge victorious. When it's 10 versus 12 you might as well forget it.

This was one of the most unsatisfactory afternoons of football the Premiership has ever conned us into watching.

A contest which was ended within five minutes when the increasingly patient crowds were cheated out of their hard earned cash by an over zealous match official.

You can talk all you want about the 'letter of the law'. On a technicality, Sami Hyypia's no more than clumsy tackle on Ruud van Nistelrooy was probably worth a red card.

But in the circumstances of the match and with an expectant nation preparing for a thrilling encounter between two high class teams, the decision verged on lunacy.

In what other industry claiming to entertain the public would we allow such over-indulgence?

It's a bit like going to the theatre only to find the lead role in the play has been axed at the last minute. Or going into the cinema only for some idiot to give away the ending of the film within the first five minutes.

In other circumstances, you would feel entitled to demand your money back.

The football authories, however, have an unerring capacity to take us all for mugs.

Thanks to Mike Riley we were subjected to a farce which bore no relation to what we were promised on the match ticket. This was not by any description, Manchester United versus Liverpool.

After the nightmare start when Van Nistelrooy fired home his first penalty, Liverpool did their best to rally the troops.

The task ahead seemed too hideous to contemplate and the odds of a revival greater than any of those of the most unfancied outsiders at Aintree.

Gerard Houllier's first agonising decision was to remove Milan Baros from the action. You had to feel sympathy for the Czech star, but what other option was there?

It was yet another act of faith in Emile Heskey which didn't entirely pay off, but Igor Biscan had to be introduced somehow.

Yes, it was infuriating that Baros left the stage but it would be churlish to criticise Houllier for taking a decision which he never wanted to or thought he would be contemplating.

Despite the atrocious scoreline, Biscan actually had a good game when he came on. For 65 minutes he and Djimi Traore resisted the somewhat lacklustre United attack.

The first penalty and a disallowed Paul Scholes effort were the only genuine moments of threat for over an hour.

But short of numbers, the Reds could do little to hurt their opponents.

El-Hadji Diouf had a good first half whilst Steven Gerrard and Didi Hamann grew stronger as the half progressed.

At times Liverpool even managed to sustain some pressure although Fabien Barthez was never really tested.

The hope was clearly to keep the deficit at one goal until a late rally brought improbable reward.

But such aspirations came to an abrupt halt when Riley generously awarded United a second penalty on 65 minutes.

Once more Biscan's challenge was clumsy although replays suggest the tackle was outside the box.

Riley certainly had no hesitation pointing to the spot for the sixth time in his last four visits to Old Trafford.

The official has turned himself into Van Nistelrooy's most productive and effective strike partner.

Not bad for a referee once laughably described as 'the pride of Leeds' by Sir Alex Ferguson.

To be fair, Riley did give at least one decision Liverpool's way. The Reds were given a throw-in in the 80th minute!

With the lead doubled, the game was really now up and it was sad and grossly unjust that United ended the fixture in cruise control and added two more to their tally.

This was never a 4-0 game. Fatigue and demoralisation set in allowing Ryan Giggs and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to flatter the hosts with their biggest win over Liverpool in 50 years.

A more hollow victory will never be achieved in the next 50.

Ironically, even in the face of heavy defeat, it is tough to criticise the performance of the Liverpool players.

The inexperienced centre-halves did as well as they could.

Jamie Carragher continued to put a boot in until the final whistle, while the midfield worked its proverbials off and at times even out-battled United.

But Ferguson's men had everything served to them on a plate with whatever side order took their fancy. They didn't have to break sweat for this win. There was no tactical triumph, outstanding individual display or mastery of skill earning the potential champions three points.

Everything which could go wrong for Liver-pool did.

The ethic of the game had been destroyed long before the final whistle blew. This was billed as a football match but it wasn't one.

Liverpool must now try to forget what happened here as soon as possible. Hope is not lost in the battle for fourth spot and one would assume all the remaining bad luck it is possible to have between now and May expired during the course of this game.

It's impossible to make any reasonable judgements on how the side is actually playing on the basis of the events of Saturday. Before this, Liverpool's league form was good and the signs were encouraging that a run would lead Liverpool into the promised land of the Champions League.

It will now be a huge test of character for the players to put this trauma out of their minds.

As for United, given the fortune they had here, the title might as well be handed to them now.

Ferguson once said referee David Elleray favoured his rivals so much he should have been handed a championshop medal after one performance against Liverpool.